Tue Sep 12 08:00:00 EAT 2017

Mukulu should be isolated - IGP

Inspector General of police Kale Kayihura (left) chats with the head of Interpol regional bureau Nairobi, Mr Gideon Kimilu (centre), during the official opening of the 19th EAPCCO annual general meeting at Munyonyo, Kampala, yesterday. PHOTO BY ABUBAKER LUBOWA

By JOSEPH KATO

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Kampala- The Inspector General of police, Gen Kale Kayihura, has advised that detained Allied Democratic Force rebel commander Jamil Mukulu be kept away from the public, saying he does not deserve to be in society.While opening a one-day meeting organised for the Criminal Investigations, counter-terrorism, forensic and Information and Communication Technology directors yesterday, Gen Kayihura said he wanted Mukulu convicted and imprisoned for life.“I want to pay tribute to Tanzania for helping us apprehend ADF leader Mukulu who is now in our custody.

Such people should never be in society again,” Gen Kayihura said.Mr Mukulu was arrested by Tanzania forces in April 2015 and extradited in July the same year.

He faces, among others, charges of terrorism, treason, murder and crimes against humanity.

Police first incarcerated Mukulu at Nalufenya high profile detention facility in Jinja District but later transferred him to Luzira prison after he complained to the Jinja High Court that police was feeding him on pork, which is against his religious tenets.Although Nalufenya is known for subjecting suspects to all sorts of torture, the police leadership denied serving pork to Mukulu and accused him of concocting the story to gain public sympathy.Gen Kayihura also applauded DR Congo for agreeing to join the East African Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (EAPCCO).He said such a venture would usher in achievements to curb crime such as human trafficking and smuggling.

DR Congo has in the past been referred to as a recruitment centre for rebel groups like ADF and a transaction centre for stolen goods like motor vehicles.Last week, Interpol-Uganda office released statistics showing that 433 vehicles had been stolen in the last six months of which 97 per cent were smuggled to DR Congo. “I am happy DRC is joining us. We are ready to work with you as our brother...,” Gen Kayihura said.

Mr Gideon Kimilu, a senior investigations officer from Nairobi, challenged other CID officers from the region to support strategies for the establishment of a region investigations team.“Our region is being used as a transaction centre. We need to have collective strategies to provide security for the region,” Mr Kimilu said.